Obama Executive Order

Obama Executive Order, Some conservatives fear that a mysterious executive order from President Barack Obama regarding disaster preparedness is a troubling hint at the possibility of martial law in advance of a war with Iran.

White House press secretary Jay Carney dismisses the notion, saying at a press briefing on Monday: “Well, I cannot explain that reaction to it. I think it was a fairly standard and routine piece of business. The president’s approach to our dealings with Iran, I think, has been made clear. He has made it clear, most recently, when he discussed it at length a couple of weeks ago.”

Some conservative groups are concerned that the order, which Obama signed on Friday, gives the president absolute control over all the country’s natural resources in case of a natural disaster or during a time of war, fueling speculation that the Obama administration is making preparations for war with Iran.

“We are aggressively pursuing a policy focused on tightening sanctions against Iran, increasing the pressure on Iran, and increasing the isolation of the Iranian regime, because this president believes we have the time and space to do that, to see if that diplomatic approach and sanctions approach can produce the desired result,” Carney said. “As he said from this podium, it’s easy to talk about war, but you need to talk about the potential implications and consequences of war.”

Insisting that the president “takes no option off the table” in dealing with Iran, Carney then went on to say that Obama is focused on a diplomatic solution “because not only do we have the time and space to do so, but it is ultimately the approach that has the best chance, if successful, of ensuring that Iran does not ever build a nuclear weapon. So that’s the approach he’s taking.”

Critics, however, have interpreted Obama’s National Defense Resources Preparedness order as giving the president authority to approve the dispensing of all domestic energy, production, transportation, food, and water supplies as he deems necessary to protect national security.

Indeed, the order conveys the authority of the president to “to require acceptance and priority performance of contracts or orders [other than contracts of employment] to promote the national defense over performance of any other contracts or orders, and to allocate materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense.”